Carpenter essential career information:
- 2012 median pay: $39,940
- 2012, number of jobs: 567,820
- Employment growth forecast, 2010-2020: 20 percent
- Entry-level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
Carpenters; what they do:
Anyone living in a home or working in a building owes the quality of the building’s structure to carpenters. Carpenters build and repair the framework, structures, and fixtures of various types of buildings made of wood and other materials. They build things such as stairs, doorframes, partitions, rafters, and install items such as kitchen cabinets, siding, and drywall.
Carpenters do everything from meeting with clients and interpreting blueprints to labor-intensive work such as constructing and putting up the framework for buildings. They may use large pulleys and cranes to assist in setting up framework.
Carpenter careers include measuring, cutting and shaping wood and other materials. Carpenter careers also include installing fixtures such as windows and molding.
A carpenter career includes using a variety of tools from small hand tools like squares, levels, hammers, and chisels, to power tools such as sanders, circular saws, and nail guns.
Carpenters may also play a supervisory role, instructing other workers and closely inspecting framework for damaged or misaligned sections.
The primarily types of carpenters include: residential carpenters, commercial carpenters, and Industrial carpenters.
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Carpenter job titles:
- Master Carpenter
- Journeyman Carpenter
- Construction Carpenter
- Lead Carpenter
- Finish Carpenter
- Custom Stair Builder
- Trim Carpenter
Carpenters Education, Certification and License Requirements
A carpenter career generally begins with a three to four year apprenticeship. Contractor associations and unions often sponsor the apprenticeship programs.
Carpenters may also receive training through a two-year technical school offering a carpentry degree. These degrees are affiliated with unions and contractor organizations.
Carpenter programs cover subjects such as:
- Carpentry basics
- Blueprint reading
- Mathematics
- Building code requirements
- Safety and first aid practices
- Concrete
- Rigging
- Scaffolding Rigging
- Fall protection
- Confined workspace
Carpenters are not required to obtain any specific license or certification to practice their trade.
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Career Advancement Opportunities
Carpenters’ extremely diverse daily workload increases their chances of advancing in their career to a general construction supervisor position. Some carpenters become an independent contractor.
Carpenters Job Outlook
Forecast: 20 percent growth in employment from 2010 to 2020 for carpenters, which is above average for all occupations.
A growing population increases the demand for new homes, factories, and power plants and, subsequently, increases the demand for carpenters. More people are remodeling existing homes.
Limiting factors to the rise in employment for carpenters includes any limitations on state and federal government budgets, as well as an increased use of modular and prefabricated components.
Carpenters Salary
- 2012 median annual wage: $39,940
- 2012, workers at the 75th percentile annual wage: $54,800
- 2012, workers at the 25th percentile annual wage: $31,290
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Carpenters Major Employers
- Residential building construction
- Nonresidential building construction
- Building finishing contractors
- Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors
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